A mysterious girl is saved from drowning by a fragmented family living in a desolate beach house. Her strange relationship with them becomes intimate and complex until everything reaches to a point of no return.
A mysterious girl is saved from drowning by a fragmented family living in a desolate beach house. Her strange relationship with them becomes intimate and complex until everything reaches to a point of no return.
Kathy, a failed writer, barely gets by selling “haunted” dolls online to gullible marks, writing elaborate backstories to up the selling price. Her quiet life is upended when she encounters the real deal: Clara Jane, a vintage doll possessed by a foul-mouthed spirit. Clara Jane makes Kathy question everything she thought she knew, and forces her to make a bold choice to change the course of her life.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Kathy, a failed writer, barely gets by selling “haunted” dolls online to gullible marks, writing elaborate backstories to up the selling price. Her quiet life is upended when she encounters the real deal: Clara Jane, a vintage doll possessed by a foul-mouthed spirit. Clara Jane makes Kathy question everything she thought she knew, and forces her to make a bold choice to change the course of her life.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Creepy, salty.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I think the premise is unique, though there’s definitely a niche fanbase for haunted dolls—both those who truly believe and those who just enjoy that weird little world. And who couldn’t use a little encouragement to follow their creative dreams… from beyond the grave?
From a production standpoint, this could be made on a very low budget and shot over 2–3 days. There are only three human characters and two locations. The doll is the most important character and would ideally be robotic—but as a backup, I know some talented puppet makers from a previous short I produced.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Ngl: The Princess Bride. I forced my friends to watch it nearly every day ine summer in middle school.
In the horror genre: Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A perfect film. No notes. Much better than the book.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I finished the first draft in early 2020, and planned to produce and direct it as my second short film with the Bay Area Indies film group. Then—well, you know—the pandemic.
Also—I had a baby.
I recently returned to it and did a few revisions over the past year.
The festival is amazing. we just have to thank for all the support from the team
I’m very honoured to have been the winner for a Best short film with my short film A MARTYR OF THE PEN, a Wonderful festival. With excellent creativity, communication and organization, I will be submitting future projects. Thank you CMFSF.
Networking an unproduced screenplay and getting it seen are the toughest elements of this business. The team at Crime/Mystery Film & Screenplay Festival are fully involved in your project from the get-go. With my biopic The Split, they provided a genuine appraisal of my work, demonstrating their knowledge in the field of entertainment. They’ve also encouraged me to get involved with their true crime podcast, which I’d be happy to do. I can’t recommend these guys highly enough. They actually follow through with their promise and support up-and-coming writers. Thank you.
Overall, awesome experience with this festival. Communication was top notch and having a recording reading of Hunk of Burning Love just added to the experience. Finally, being interviewed just wrapped everything up nicely. I highly recommend this festival.
The Action/Crime/Mystery Film and Screenplay competition provided me with excellent feedback as well as a table reading of one of my scenes and an interview! The whole experience was hugely valuable.
An amazing festival, we are grateful for receiving the Best Crime Movie Award. The Audience feedback, the podcast, the interview, everything was really well-curated and very helpful to promote the movie. Thanks to all the team at Crime/Mistery Film Festival.
Dystopian stories are a type of speculative fiction that explore the darker aspects of human nature and the human mind. They often serve as a warning about what could happen to modern society if certain aspects grow out of control.
SAVE $40 off the regular submission for full novel submissions. Get FULL FEEDBACK on your novel by our committee of industry professionals. Get a transcript of your novel performed by professional actors at the Festival.
This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.) 1) Full Feedback on your script 2) Actors performance video reading of your script 3) Blog interview promotion. 4) Podcast interview on the Film Festival ITunes show
Amazing lineup of the best STAR WARS short films in the world today;
STAR WARS: RENDEZVOUS, 20min,. USA
Directed by Brett L. Peterson
A pair of do-gooders attempt to protect a young, force-sensitive girl from bounty hunters on their way to rendezvous with a mysterious contact with the power to protect her much better than they can.
After a group of smugglers acquire a valuable asset, they soon realize they’re not alone. Without warning, they are being hunted by one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy.
Two young JEDI, Daptain Drovat and his Padawan, were secrectly sent by the Rebellion to find the Blood Crystal, rumored to have infinite powers. A young Sith races to an abandoned Imperial Kyber mining base on the moons of Orsicca in order to procure the crystal fo the Empire. Following orders from the Rebellion and the Empire, both Sith and Jedi have found themselves on the same moon, fighting to find the Blood Crystal…
Kidnapped! Jedi Knights Pem’Aiara and Tala Vane have been abducted by the evil Galactic Empire. Taking place 3 years after the Great Jedi Purge, our heroes must face brutal truths about their beliefs while being interrogated by the insidious Commander Strand. After being beaten by a Purge Trooper, all looks hopeless for these brave Jedi as they prepare to meet The Emperor himself…
When Dresca – an injured imperial pilot – is rescued by rebels after the Battle of Endor, she must choose between her loyalty to the Empire and the kindness of strangers she once thought of as monsters.
STAR WARS: HEIR TO THE EMPIRE, Chapter 31, 14min., UK
Directed by Damien Valentine
Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian arrive at Sluis Van for a much needed break. Instead, they walk into Grand Admiral Thrawn’s massive assault on the shipyards. The Millenium Falcon and Rogue Squadron are all that stand between the defenseless New Republic ships and the approaching Imperial fleet.
Amazing! I feel very honored to receive the award for Best Animation for “The Cormorant’s Shadow”. The reviews with the first impressions of the audience and the professional approach of the team are excellent; the technique and the aesthetic aspect of experimental films reflect the quality of the movie.
I had a fantastic experience at the Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival. The feedback video from the audience was insightful and encouraging, and I truly appreciated the opportunity to hear real reactions to my film. The team is very supportive and communication was excellent throughout the process. I highly recommend this festival to any filmmaker looking for genuine audience engagement and professional recognition.
I find this festival extremely valuable from a filmmaker perspective. The unique feature of the audience leaving video testimonials and feedback on your film is worth the submission fee alone. Very honored to have my film “Bad Chemistry” win best short in the festival.
Great festival. Very honored to be a part of the selection. Thank the audience for the kind feedback. Thank the team for always being helpful and caring. I’ll come back.
This festival is absolutely amazing. I love, love, love them. I hope all of my films can get in. I’m so happy that my short, Rock Island Prison 1864 was selected. They treat filmmakers extremely well, they are caring, they are helpful, and they really want to promote films made by their selected filmmakers. Thank you!
SAVE $40 off the regular submission for full novel submissions. Garner FULL FEEDBACK on your novel by our committee of industry professionals. Get a transcript of your novel performed by professional actors at the Thriller/Suspense Festival.
This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.) 1) Full Feedback on your script 2) Actors performance video reading of your script 3) Blog interview promotion. 4) Podcast interview on the Film Festival ITunes show
Midnight Coachmen, 18min., Canada Directed by Enrico Ferri A reimagining of the classic fairytale of Cinderella, told from the perspective of a dog and mouse who live as humans until the stroke of midnight disrupts their world.
What motivated you to make this film? It was a concept that I had come up with when I was in university. I’ve always wanted to do a period piece and after getting enough experience producing and directing I felt it was finally a good time to challenge myself in this genre.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? Two and a half years.
How would you describe your film in two words!? Beautiful. Surreal.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? The global pandemic and the Canadian grant process both stalled the project multiple times.
Provincial restrictions and closures caused repeated delays, and the grant process left me in limbo—unsure whether to wait and reapply or move forward on my own. In the end, I decided to do it independently. Securing Canadian arts grants is tough—part luck, part timing—and with this project, I had neither.
HORROR Underground was an incredible experience and I highly suggest it to any film maker. They really care about speaking with the artist, getting to know their story and why they make films while also doing an incredible job helping uplift emerging artists. Their feedback videos are very helpful as well. Can’t wait to submit my next project!
Really nice festival that helps filmmakers promote themselves!
I really enjoyed being a part of this festival. It has such a unique approach to how they screen your film, and also let the audience provide feedback in such a great straightforward way. 10/10 would recommend!
Horror underground is a really great festival! Really appreciated the feedback video they made. They really push the ” we want people to know you” philosophy, and that is what makes this one pop out. We were blessed with an award this year. I will surely come back with future projects!
This is a great festival, thank you so much for letting us be a part of it! They send us some awesome audience reactions which was really fun to see and a very unique and cool aspect of what sets this festival apart from others!
Horror Underground was great! Absolutely loved the audience feedback video and so glad that “the bef” won the award for Best Performances!
Our film was voted BEST STORY at the festival, so I cannot be happier. I was even sent an audience feedback video of their positive reaction to the film. The festival also asked me to do an interview and a podcast interview on their popular ITunes radio show. I highly recommend this festival every beginning filmmaker.
Festival Reviews 